Huge jump in average amount of mortgages

The average amount of urban mortgages in the Balearics, which account for nearly 95 per cent of all mortgages, has risen by 112 per cent since 1995. The National Institute of Statistics reveals that in the first eight months of the year, the average size of a mortgage was 103'281 euros, compared to 48'609 euros in the same period in 1995. The total amount of mortgages formalised by banks, savings banks and credit cooperatives has risen from 424.5 million euros to 1'891 million euros in the same period, a jump of 344 per cent, the Institute said. The huge increase was attributed to the growth in the economy. The average size of rural mortgages has risen by 58 per cent from 61'778 euros in 1995 to 116'845 in the first ten months of this year, because there is less demand. Builders say that mortgages are higher because housing prices have risen (between 15 and 20 per cent a year in the past two years).